From December 4-6, 2011, ADL held a milestone event--the 20th session of the Advanced Training School (ATS), a program which was first piloted in 2003 and has now come to be recognized as one of the premier counter-terrorism trainings in the country. The three day training provides heads of FBI field offices and chiefs and commanders of major city and state police departments with the practical information, resources and contacts to help them combat domestic and international extremist and terrorist threats. ATS is acclaimed for the excellence of its curriculum, the skill and knowledge of its presenters and the quality of its participants.

The most recent session featured presentations by: Matt Olsen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; John Pistole, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator; Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld of the Israel Police; and ADL's own subject matter experts. The class was composed of 41 executives and commanders from agencies including: the Federal Bureau of Investigation; US Customs and Border Protection; California Highway Patrol; Texas Department of Public Safety; Missouri State Highway Patrol; Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana and Rhode Island State Police; and the Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Dallas, Milwaukee, Miami Beach, St. Louis and Washington DC Metropolitan Police Departments.

One participant stated that "the work of ADL and the resources it provides to the law enforcement community are extraordinarily helpful in identifying threats to our citizens and have undoubtedly saved lives." Another explained, "ADL fills a critical need for law enforcement…The training facilitates networking between the various departments and this networking facilitates the flow of critical information. Without this training this void would most likely go unfilled." One chief said that "the experience I received was incredible! In fact a lead for our jurisdiction came out of one of the classes." And another participant called it "one of the best classes I have taken in 23 years."

ATS has now trained 735 commanders from 225 different agencies across the country.